Investigation of the local time dependence of Mercury's sodium exosphere based on a numerical simulation

Sonobe Aya, Misawa Hiroaki, Morioka Akira, Okano Shoichi

doi:10.14909/jsps.2006f.0.95.0

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

数値シミュレーションに基づく水星ナトリウム大気のLT依存性の検証

Abstract

We have investigated the local-time (LT) dependence of distribution of Mercury's sodium exosphere, in order to understand production and loss processes of low release velocity component of the exosphere. As a method of the investigation, we compare a model sodium exosphere simulated by the Monte Carlo method with observation results [Sprague et al.,1997]. As an initial step of this investigation, we adopted the photon-stimulated desorption process as the released mechanism, and assumed that amount of sodium atoms supplied to Mercury's surface always exceeds that of released atoms from surface. As the results of the comparison the model could not meet with the observed LT dependence. It is suggested that, therefore, some additional mechanisms or effects, especially balance of supply and release for sodium atoms, should be considered. Following these results, we have investigated the LT dependence further by adopting new models considering non-uniformity of sodium atoms supplied to Mercury's surface and thermal desorption which is one of release mechanisms causes increase of sodium column density particularly at the dawn side region [Sprague et al.,1992; Hunten and Sprague,2002].

Journal

Abstracts for fall meeting of the Japanese Society for Planetary Science

Abstracts for fall meeting of the Japanese Society for Planetary Science 2006f (0), 95-95, 2006

THE JAPANESE SOCIETY FOR PLANETARY SCIENCES

Details 詳細情報について

CRID: 1390001205558173824

NII Article ID: 130004636153

DOI: 10.14909/jsps.2006f.0.95.0

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JaLC
CiNii Articles

Abstract License Flag: Disallowed

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